If any of you financed through PeopleFirst or have a "check waiting" and you made your application in early june or before, be sure to call them abck as there are lower rates available now. I was able to drop mine by 1/4% yesteerday. i originally was approved June 9th. I know it's only a 1/4% but it adds up. Also, i found out that if you arrange your pepolefirst loan through Costco, you get another 1/4%. Check it out.

 

I've got an application pending with them. Unfortunately, I've run into problems with online financing and have got rejected by 4 out of 5 banks! Basically, I have had an impeccable credit record for 10 years (moderate use of credit cards, never missed or had a late payment). Then about 2 months ago, my secondary card (which I only use a few times a year) changed banks from First USA to Bank One and I either never recieved the bill or inadverantly threw it out ( I get like 5 credit card solicitations a day living in a garden apartment complex). Once I found out about it, I paid the entire balance of principal and interest and I have no other debt. Still, this (along with a couple of higher than normal bills in the last few months due to non-recurring expenses) knocked my credit score to 714. In addition, I make a pretty good salary.

At the time (and still) the balance in my bank account exceeded the bill by like a 15:1 margin, so it wasn't a "credit or solvency issue." If you added my investment portfolio (which qualifies as "liquid assets" in their applications), the idea of me not being able to pay becomes downright laughable. The only offer I got was 5.49% from Synergy Bank, which is quite high.

Its amazing how they screw you for one mistake. Its even more amazing how simplisticly they evaluate credit risk on a loan. Its amazing how many loans are given to true high risk candidates. No wonder they banks have had so many defaults in the last few years.

If I don't get a good offer, I'm just going to increase the down-payment and shorten the loan until the total interest is close to what it should have been with a lower interest rate.

 

I was approved this Saturday for a PeopleFirst loan @ www.peoplefirst.com for 3.49%, 36 months. Took about an hour of my time, mostly waiting a little while for their phone call.

Costco didn't figure-out for me:

At 3.24% - regular membership rate - would have saved me a sum of $31.80 for 12 monthly payments ($2.65 per) which is less than the regular $45 annual membership fee.

At 3.14% - executive membership rate - would have saved me a sum of $44.52 for 12 monthly payments ($3.71 per) which is less than the executive $100 annual membership fee.

So, not planning to use Costco for anything else, I just went straight thru PeopleFirst.

The numbers might work differently for different loans I suppose. The PeopleFirst online calculator makes this comparison easy enough to do.

Anyway, I'm happy... ...yessir!

 

Using Costo is only worth it if your already a member, and shop there a lot. It's basicily a bonus for Costco shoppers. Not something you join just to get a lower rate. If it availible and your going to use peoplefirst.com go through Costco just to get a little bit lower rate.

 

Yessir! I'm very happy with that 3.49%. I used the "Blank Check" last night when I picked-up my RX-8!!!:D

Their rates just went up. The 3.49% is now 3.75%

 

I got a better rate with Chase than Peoplefirst.